The Water Margin

The ancient sages said "do not
despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will
not become a dragon?"
So may one just man become an army.
Nearly a thousand years ago in ancient
China, at the time of the Sung dynasty, there was a cruel and
corrupt government.
These men riding are outlaws -- heroes
-- who have been driven to live in the Water Margins of Liang
Shan Po, far to the south of the capital city. Each fights
tyranny with a price on his head, in a world very different from
our own.
The story starts in legend even then,
for our heroes, it was said, were perhaps the souls reborn of
other, earlier knights.

Review

In this TV adaptation of a famous Chinese folk legend
-- a kind of 'Robin Hood in China' -- hero-outlaws fight a corrupt
government "in a world very different from our own", with
minor fantasy elements (set in China, made in Japan, dubbed into
English) -- it's now out on video, so I get to watch it again.

Gradually, over the 26 episodes, wicked Kao Chui forces each of the
'nine dozen heroes', one way or another, into outlawry, thereby
sealing his own fate. For they go to join the rebel band living in the
water margins of Liang Shan Po, forming a steadily growing force of
opposition to Kao. After numerous adventures, sword fights, complex
plots, counter-plots, sub-plots, and gobs of opaque oriental
philosophy, the heroes eventually overthrow him.

Every episode features at least one set-piece sword fight, as our
heroes carve their way through ever-increasing numbers of soldiers,
bandits, or whoever else is in their way. But it's not
just
the fighting, fun though it is: the characters develop -- Lin Chung
grows from a conscientious army officer into a great hero -- Kao Chiu
descends from a small time bully to a terrible tyrant. The complex
story of how various law-abiding, upright citizens are forced onto the
wrong side of the law -- but manage to keep to the moral high ground
-- how they are forced into rebellion against the corrupt government,
holds the attention.

The dubbing is exquisite, virtually lip-synched throughout, so you
can easily forget it
is
dubbed. This does force the dialogue
to be a bit bizarre and disjointed in places, but that's just part of
the charm. Also, the dubbing uses (mostly fake) Chinese accents,
greatly helping the realism -- English or American accents would just
have been jarring.

Rating: 2.5

Main characters

Lin
Chung
suffers much, but maintains his honour and nobility throughout.
He consistently refuses to be the leader of Liang Shan Po, feeling
himself unworthy -- but he is the driving moral force of the tale.

Kao
Chiu
starts as a small-time bully, and grows in power and
wickedness, over-taxing and murdering the peasants, until he is
Prime Minister with designs on the Imperial Throne.

Hu
San-niang
the only female hero. As a sop to femininity, she fights with
two short lightweight swords, but is just as lethal as the other
heroes. Every other female character, good or bad, is destined
barely to survive one episode.